                1. Technical Field of the Invention        
This invention relates to an information entry device, wherein provision is made for protecting the information entry such as a PIN from being stolen.
2. Description of Prior Art/Current Technology
Various kinds of financial transaction services are provided by using IT (Information Technology) these days, such as credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets by use of smart cards and so on. Information of the card is kept in the magnetic stripe or IC chip of the card. Also, we can now use a public phone by entering a call card number instead of inserting a coin.
To use these services, a PIN or password entry is required for user identification. Nowadays using a credit card requires signature. But when a smart card is used for a credit card instead of a magnetic stripe, it requires a PIN entry. The arrangement of keys of a PIN pad on an ATM and the like is specified in ISO 9564-1 Annex-E This specifies the key arrangement of a PIN pad to be configured as 3 numbers horizontal and 4 lines vertical. The numeric number starts from the left of the top line. However, this fixed arrangement makes it easy for another person to steal the PIN we enter by glancing at the movement of our finger based on the fixed arrangement of the keys.
In order to solve this problem, one may use a device that changes the key arrangement randomly on a touch panel screen monitor each time we enter our password. But this type of device is difficult to use, as the order of keys is random. This random arrangement of keys leads to mistouching the keys, and it takes a lot of time to push a number because a user has to look for the keys. Further, a serious problem is that a visually handicapped person cannot use this device. Furthermore, monitor screens of this type are expensive.